Painting-machine



(-No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. K. JOHNSON. PAINTING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 16,1897.

. two by hizfliiorneyes (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

W. K. JOHNSON.

PAINTING MACHINE.

No. 593,896. Patented Nov. 16,1897. F

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\VILLIAM K. JOHNSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PAINTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,896, dated'November 16, 1897. Application filed November 30, 1896- Serial No. 613,963 (No model.)

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Be, it known that 1, WILLIAM K. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in'Painting or Coating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to effect in a simple and inexpensive manner the expe ditious application of a smooth and even coating of any desired material and of any thickness to a strip or sheet of any required charactor. I r

. As shown in the accompanying drawings,

I have illustrated my invention as constructed for the application of paint to the surface of a strip of tin or other metal, and in this speci-,

fication will describe in detail the machine as intended for that purpose, but it should be understood at the outset that my invention is available for the application of any desired liquid body, whether paint, stain, cement, waterproofing material, or the like, to strips or sheets of any desired character-such as metal, cloth, paper, or'wood--or in some cases the machine may even be used for applying a coating of one metal to another.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of the machine; Fig. 2, .a transverse'section of the same; Fig. 3, a sectional plan view of part of the machine, and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a modification of the invention.

In the machine shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

a suitable framework 1 has mounted upon it a receptacle or tank 2 for containing the paint, stain, waterproof compound, or other material which is to be used. If this material is of a character requiring heat in order to maintain it in a fluid condition, the receptacle may be steam-jacketed or provided with other means of heating it, or if the tank is intended to contain molten metal it should form part of a furnace structure whereby the proper degree of heat may be maintained in it. The bottom of the tank is provided with means whereby a regulated discharge of the contents of the tank may be eflected. In the present instance I have used a series of valves or spigots 3, but any other available means may be employed for thpurpose without departing from the main features of my invention.

Suitably mounted'on the framework 1 below thetank 2 is another tank 4 and between the two tanks are a series of transverse bars 5, 6, 7, and 8, guided at theirends upon fixed portions of the framework and mounted upon set-screws, so that they can beadjusted up and down and so also that the bars 7 and 8 can be reversed end for end when desired, all of the bars being readily removable from the machine when-such removal is necessary or desirable.

At one end of the machine is a box or trough 9, having its bottom and inner side, by preference, composed of antifriction-rollers 10, and in this box is deposited the roll of tin which is to be painted the strip or sheet being drawn from the roll up over a roller 11, mounted in suitable bearings above the box 9, and thence over the top of the'tank 4 to and over a roller 12 at the opposite end of the machine, the strip passing under each of the transverse bars 5, 6, 7, and 8 in its course from one end of the machine to the other.

The bars 5 and (i are provided with projecting lips or tongues 13 13, of rubber, leather, stiff textile fabric, or other available flexible material, so that they will not catch the crossseams of the strip, but will readily accommodate themselves to irregularities of the surface of the same, and the bars 7 and 8 are provided with brushes 14 of any appropriate character, the bars 6, 7, and 8 being by preference inclined slightly forward or in the direction of travel of. the sheet of material to be coated as it is drawn through the machine. The bars 5 and 6 may also, if desired, be inclined in respect to a line transverse to the line of travel of the strip or sheet, but this is not essential. The strip or sheet is kept in the proper central position by means of suitable lateral guides 15 at the opposite ends of the machine, these guides consisting in the present instance simply of vertical pins adapted to openings in the end bars 16 of. the machine, so that by shifting the pins from one pair of openings to another they are adapted different widths.

The framework is preferably mounted upon rollers 17, so that it can be readily transported from place to place.

In using the machine the forward end of the sheet or strip to be painted or coated is passed through the machine in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, and valves or spigots 3 are then opened, so as to permit of a flow of coating material onto the strip suflicient in volume to more than provide for the necessary coating or covering of the same, the surplus being removed by the flexible lips or tongues 13 and 13 and flowing into the lower tank I, from which it can be removed and fed back into the upper tank 2 by means of a pump or other convenient device.

In order to prevent as far as possible the flow of the coating material onto the under surface of the sheet in case one side only of the same has to be coated, I prefer to so arrange the rollers 11 and 12 and the transverse bars 5, 6, 7, and 8 that the strip will have a slight transverse inclination, so that the surplus material will flow from the lower edge of the strip. The lip or tongue 13 prevents flow of material backward beyond the limits of the tank 4, and the brushes 14 serve to evenly and smoothly spread or distribute the paint or other covering material over the surface of the strip as the latter is drawn beneath the same.

Any appropriate draft mechanism may be employed for pulling the strip through the machine. In the case of a machine for painting strips of tin the strip can be drawn through by the workman, who grasps the forward end of the strip by any suitable implement and then walks away from the machine, drawing the strip after him; but in treating other materials there may be a pair of rollers 12, and said rollers may be driven by power and may serve as draft-rolls. But one brush may be used in some cases, or, on the other hand, more than two brushes may be employed, and any desired means may be used in place of the rolls 11 and 12 for providing the desired support for the strip or sheet which is being acted upon.

By making the bars 7 and 8 reversible the brushes may be changed end for end occasionally, so as to prevent them from wearing unevenly, and owing to the detachability of the brush-carrying bars the brushes can be immersed in oil, turpentine, or other softening agent when not in use in order to prevent them from becoming hard or inoperative for the purpose for which they were intended.

Owing to the antifriction bearing-surface presented by the bottom and inner sides of the roll-receiving box 9 the unwinding of the roll can be effected with very little ell'ort; but itshould be understood that a spindle or other desired means of mounting the roll may be substituted for the receiving-box, if desired,

without departing from the essential features of my invention.

In some cases the lip or tongue 13 may alone be used for spreading the coating upon the strip or sheet of material, and in other cases this lip or tongue may be dispensed with and the brush or brushes alone may be used.

The rolls 11 and 12 are preferably mounted so as to beadjustable vertically, whereby, if desired, the strip or sheet I which is being painted or coated can be dropped out of contact with the distributers or brushes.

A machine constructed in accordance with my invention is inexpensive and is not likely to get out of order in use, as no complicated machinery is employed in its construction. Hence it can safely be intrusted to the unskilled labor usually employed for performing the work for which the machine is intended. The sheets coated by the machine, moreover, present a smooth and uniform brush-finish, much superior to ordinaryhandwork. i

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated how my invention may be applied to the coating of cylindrical objectssuch as cans,barrcls, or the like-the object in this case being mounted so as to be capable of rotation instead of being drawn or fed in a straight line between the upper and lower tanks.

The main purpose of the upper tank is to give to the supply of liquid'used for coating purposes such a head or pressure as will cause it to flow freely onto the strip or sheet as the latter is moved forward. Hence it will be evident that other means of imparting the necessary pressure to the coating liquid may be used without departing from the essential features of my invention, such means being considered the mechanical equivalent of the elevated tank.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent A coating-machine in which are combined a tank, means for moving a strip or sheet over said tank, and for maintaining it in a laterally-inclined position during such passage, provision for causing a flow of the coating material onto the strip or sheet, and means for spreading or distributing said coating material over the strip or sheet as it is moved forward, whereby the surplus material is caused to flow laterally into the tank from the lower edge of the strip or sheet, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM K. JOHNSON.

\Vitnesses: I

.Tos. II. KLEIN, F. E. BEeu'roLD. 

